Her Christmas Elf
by Arysd
Summary: Last Christmas Eve Drew unexpectedly ran into May, where she had surprised him with a very thoughtful Christmas gift. This Christmas Drew plans to be the one to surprise her.. But how is he suppose to do that? Contestshipping.
1. Chapter 1

Heh. Would you look at this, another fic. So here's the deal:  
I wanted to write a fic for a friend's birthday.. but I had a huge block after only the first couple paragraphs. Then unexpectedly this story idea just came to me. (Doesn't help when everywhere I go there's something Christmas related staring me down in the face. xD)  
But THEN I was like; "A Christmas fic as a birthday present, weeks before the holiday?.." So then another idea unexpectedly hit me. Make it a two-shot. The first chapter posted today on my friend's birthday, and the last one uploaded on Christmas Eve! So that's the end to that.

Now that you listened to that insane ramble.. Let's all wish a **Prongs .xo **a Happy Birthday, eh? ;D This is for you girl. c:

**Summary;  
**_Last Christmas Eve Drew unexpectedly ran into May, where she had surprised him with a very thoughtful Christmas gift. This Christmas Drew plans to be the one to surprise her.. But how is he suppose to do that? Contestshipping.  
_

**Disclaimer;**_  
Pokemon, the characters, locations, and other various items mentioned in this story do not belong to me, and belong to Satoshi Tajiri._

* * *

Running, panting, losing my balance on the ice, completely losing my cool... not how you would usually see me, Drew Hayden, acting. But come on, these girls were insane! Ever since my first contest win I seem to attract complete lunatics to me. I love coordinating, I love competing, I even love the attention.. but the fangirls? _Seriously_?

"DREW! Sign my Budew?!" As I ran, the mob of girls continued to yell out the craziest requests.. the one just heard probably being the most normal and reasonable one yet. But come on! I'm not going to sign her Pokemon.

It seems that the girls behind me have just as much energy as they did when they first spotted me, but I'm running out. If I had to guess I'd say I've been running away from them for a good 25 minutes now, and I can't take it anymore. Reaching into my pants pocket I pulled out a Pokeball and threw it into the air. This action alone made the girls stop and stare in awe, probably thinking I was about to put on a show for them. Fine then.. I'll give them a show.. a disappearing act sounds appropriate.

When the fair sized Pokemon fully materialized it showed to be my ground and dragon dual-type Pokemon, Flygon. When his eyes glanced behind me he seemed to understand. Turning around and lowering himself, I climbed on and he started his ascent through the large pine trees that seemed to surround the area. The cries of multiple girls sounded throughout the air, but as we got higher all I could hear were Flygon's wings.

Where was I? I didn't even know. I guess I hadn't been paying attention where I was going, only wanting to get away from all the noise. Well, mission accomplished. But I would still like to know where I was. Snow fell lightly from the sky and I could only see the blanket of white and the green from the trees from my position in the sky.

As Flygon continued forward, I began to think about _her_. Her, as in May Maple. I haven't seen her for about a year now.. almost exactly a year actually. The last time I saw her was last Christmas Eve. It was a freak accident, I wasn't expecting to see her. Since I didn't think I'd see her that day, I didn't have a gift for her. But she had one for me. I had felt slightly guilty but with just a smile on her face she told me it was no problem and left me with wishes of a happy holiday. I did have a happy holiday, thanks to her. She still hasn't realized the impact she has on me. I laughed bitterly as the full memory came back to me.

-

_(Flashback - Christmas Eve)_

I was weaving my way through a crowd of people, just trying to find my way to the Pokemon Center. It was Christmas Eve and the last minute shopping was absolutely nuts. Why did people have to wait until last minute? Was it seriously too problematic or inconvenient for people to do all of this throughout the month, instead of the day before?

After awhile I had finally managed to make it to the Pokemon Center without pushing anyone or telling them off. I would had patted myself on the back if it wouldn't earn me weird stares. Now then. What city am I in again? I could had sworn is started with a 'P'.. hm. I was about to walk over to Nurse Joy's desk and ask her when another body suddenly collided into me.

Both of us fell to the floor from the impact and the other person, a female I guessed by the voice, started to apologize. "Ah, I'm so.. _so_ sorry. I was in a hurry and I-" The girl was already standing with her head bowed down. I looked up at her with a weird look on my face when she stopped in the middle of her sentence and her puzzled face turned into a happy one. "Drew!"

Ah. May Maple. My rival in contests, and my friend everywhere else. We were both fifteen years old now, and neither of us have won a Ribbon Cup yet. The Sinnoh Grand Festival, the last place we saw each other, ended in us getting defeated by natives of the Sinnoh region. Defeated by people we had never went against previously, but it served as a good lesson to both of us. The next contest season won't start until the new year starts, and I vaguely remember May saying she would be going home until then.

"...Are you going to keep smiling like an idiot, or are you going to help me off the floor?" I pretended to scoff. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her face go red with anger, red for forgetting that I was on the floor, and then frantic for forgetting I was on the floor. She began to scramble and now stood infront of me with her hand out for me to take.

"Again, I'm so sorry. I was in a hurry to deliver something to Nurse Joy." After taking her hand and lifting myself up, I looked past her and I could clearly see a wrapped present sitting infront of Nurse Joy on her desk.

"You got Nurse Joy a Christmas present?" At my question I could see her nod happily. This time I did scoff slightly. "Do you have little elves running around town delivering presents to everyone else?" I could sense her anger flare up a bit, but she seemed to bite her tongue to prevent any of her current thoughts about me to slip out in the form of yelling and cussing.

"Well aren't you just full of holiday spirit?" I smiled and nodded in response and she sighed in exasperation. "Nurse Joy is a family friend, so dad asked me to bring her the gift, okay?" Ah, so this must me May's home town. Makes more sense now, I guess. I just nodded letting her know that the subject can be dropped. I was about to walk away and hand my Pokemon over to Nurse Joy when I heard her suddenly call out my name.

Turning around, I looked at her expectantly. "What?" She signaled for me to wait as she pulled a backpack off from her back, this being the first time I've noticed it, and she placed it on the floor and began to dig through it. I crossed my arms as I waited. Finally after a minute she seemed to have found what she was looking for.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hands." I just gave her my 'what are you up to' look, a look I made especially for her. May rolled her eyes and just pouted. "Please?.." I faltered slightly and sighed, giving in. With my eyes closed and hands placed out in front of me, I felt her place something in my hands. It wasn't really heavy and it felt rectangular. "Okay, you can open your eyes now!"

Opening my eyes I could see that same happy grin on her face that she seemed to always have, and her eyes looked expectant. Drawing my eyes away from her face to my still outstretched hands, I saw I was right. Whatever it was, it was rectangular. A medium blue wrapping paper with a repeated image of a Munchlax eating a plate of Christmas cookies covered the paper and there was a silver bow in the center. I looked at it confused for a few seconds, but feeling May nudge me I finally opened it.

Opening it slowly, as I didn't want to seem too eager, I finally pulled a cold metal item from the paper. It looked quite sleek. Green in color with the design of a rose and his named engraved on the front. Opening the metal case up, the inside was lined with five places to place contest ribbons. May got me a personalized ribbon case?.. "Wha-"

Cutting me off, May put a hand up signaling me to stop. "When I was doing my Christmas shopping for everyone.. I had no clue what to get you. Something with a rose seemed appropriate. Or maybe a framed picture of Beautifly, since I know how much you like her and all." May stopped to wink and I visibly flushed. "But then I sort of figured you as more of a practical guy. A gift that you could actually use, instead of having it take up space and making it extra luggage to carry around. A ribbon case just seemed.. you." As she had carried on, I noticed her voice grew more and more soft. I smiled but then a frown instantly framed my face.

"May.. thank you for this and everything, but I.." I cut myself short. I didn't expect to see her here so I didn't get her anything. May waited for me to finish my sentence, but when I never did I think she understood. So she just smiled and nodded.

"It's no problem Drew. Just do me a favor?" I looked at her and nodded. A favor seemed like a good idea, something that would make me feel less guilty. She leaned forward slightly and kissed me quickly on the cheek and ran out the Pokemon Center's doors yelling, "Just have a happy holiday!", waving all the way. The feeling of her lips on my cheek lingered for a bit and I raised my hand to it. "No problem.."

_(End flashback)_

-

When the contest season started up again, I went to the Orange Islands and she competed in Hoenn again. She had said something about going back to her roots or something, I don't know. All I know is that May isn't expecting to see me this holiday season. I know that she isn't, since I told her in a letter I would be spending it back home. Boy, she'll be surprised. I just need to find the perfect gift... and maybe a town. Yeah, I'm getting a little cold now. Civilization would be a good thing. "What's that?.." I directed Flygon towards some lights in the distance, and sure enough it was a town. Sleep and warmth now, think of a gift for May later.

* * *

Like I said, this idea just came to me out of the blue. So that means there's still a few details I have to think out for the next chapter, so. xD Now then, I should go and listen to some Christmas music and find some inspiration. ;D

I hope you have a _very_ Happy Birthday Michelle. :D


	2. Chapter 2

I'm SO sorry for not updating when I said I would. Rather than uploading this on Christmas Eve like I said I would, I'm uploading it on New Years Eve. D8  
First it was because on Christmas Eve I only got three hours of sleep before I had to go to a doctors appointment and then I was really too tired and sick feeling to write anymore. Christmas I spent the whole day with my family. Then I've been catching up on sleep, trying to juggle tons of things with the holidays and ugh. It never seemed like the right time to write. xD

ANYWAYS. Enough with my excuses. xD I hope you all had a very merry Christmas. Tell me. If you celebrate it, what did you do/what was your favorite gift you got?  
My favorite gift was a Nintendo DS Lite and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon; Explorers of Sky. My very first Pokemon game. :'D Yay.

* * *

"E-Excuse me!" I hollered over the noise of all the chaos in the Oldale Town shopping center. It was insane, just as it always has been. I've always thought last minute shoppers were idiots for not getting it done sooner, but now I was one of them. It's Christmas Eve and I still hadn't thought of what I would give May. The only thing I could really do now was look around in some stores and hope I see something that would make a great gift.

As I was passing a store that seemed to have Pokemon for adoption a young woman stopped me. "Sir, doing a bit of last minute shopping?" I only had time to nod before she continued talking in a annoying excited tone. "Well why not get someone a pokemon? They make great gifts for anyone. A pokemon to keep your parents company while you're out on your journey. A pokemon for maybe a younger sibling that's jealous of you. Or maybe... a pokemon for a special girl in your life?" She winked as I concealed a blush.

"...Uh, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look?" I said a bit unsure. The lady nodded and led me into the store.

The first thing I noticed was this store was really organized but a bit blinding to the eyes. The overhead lights made you have to squint your eyes. The white tiles and white walls were quite surprisingly clean. Either they have some miracle floor cleaner or they don't get alot of customers. The bright orange counters and display stands around the store didn't help my eyes to adjust that much either.

The lady, who by now I had figured out worked here, stopped and turned to me with a questioning look on her face. "So who exactly are you looking to buy a gift for?" I didn't really know how to answer that, honestly. Friend, rival, girl I have an insane crush on?

"She's a rival of mine... and a friend." Well, that seemed like a reasonable answer. But the scrutinizing look she was sending me made me shift uncomfortably. I flicked my bangs out of my face to gain back a look of confidence and superiority.

"Right..." With such a sarcastic and unbelieving tone I knew she wasn't buying a thing I was telling her. I decided to drop it and so did she as she continued over to some lined up glass display cases.

We started at some that were considerably much larger in size and filled with water. "We just got these cuties in today! Anybody would be thrilled to have such a beautiful pokemon!" I moved to her side so I could look for myself and I actually had to do a double take. The only pokemon I saw was a few tentacool and one tentacruel. May would rip me to shreds if I gave that to her.

"Heh... I don't think those are quite what I'm looking for." I was starting to think this wasn't a good idea. I haven't seen May in a year. I had no idea what pokemon she may had recently captured. Despite my doubts we continued to look from case to case.

After only ten minutes I realized this store was seriously insane. Tentacool, tentacruel, spinarak, weedle, beedrill, magikarp. After she showed me a few grimer and muk she kept in back I decided to call it quits. "Thank you for helping me, but I have to... go." With that I was out the door and sighing in relief to be thrown back into the chaos. I mean, was it too much to ask to see something that fitted May's cute personality like a teddiursa?

Passing several stores nothing seemed to catch my interest. This was seriously frustrating. How am I suppose to find the 'perfect gift' before tomorrow? Jewelry seemed too... forward. Clothes was out of the question since I didn't know her size. The only place that sells pokemon needs to get some pokemon people would actually want. When I was about to give up all hope entirely I came across the last store I hadn't tried yet.

From the outside I could see a sign on the front display window advertising personalized Christmas ornaments, among other things. What do I have to lose to check it out? Walking into the store was much easier on the eyes than the adoption center was. It was quite dim in there with multi-colored Christmas lights giving the place a calm and quiet feel to the place. I walked towards the old man standing behind the counter.

The man had his back to the counter and me, as he seemed to be looking for something on one of the shelves behind the counter. "Uh... excuse me? I'm looking for a gift for-" Before I could clarify what I was looking for the old man cut me off with his rough and tired but somehow cheerful voice.

"The girl you have feelings for." The man walked away from the counter and walked farther back in the store, all the while still not taking one look at me. "I have the _perfect_ gift." I was quick to be skeptical, but the mysterious and knowing tone the old man had was making me more curious than anything at this point. "Aha, found it!"

I was about to follow the man but before I could take more than two steps he was already walking back behind the counter. For the first time he looked up at me and I could see a faint smile under his burly white beard. I was still wondering how he knew I was looking for a gift for a girl, let alone one I had feelings for. I could only guess people like me come around alot looking for their own perfect gifts.

He placed something that looked like a book on the counter. I stepped forward to take a closer look. In the dim light it definitely looked like a book but upon further examination it resembled more of a scrapbook or photo album of some kind. My eyebrow arched as I studied it closer. Undoubtedly an empty scrap book. I don't understand. He did say the perfect gift, right? How can a basic scrapbook that you can get at any basic craft shop be good enough for May?

"Uh sir. I'm sorry but I don't think this is quite what I'm looking for." I was about to attempt my quick get away like I had done with the lady at the adoption center but then the man said something that stopped me in my tracks.

He had one of the most hearty laughs I had ever heard. "Boy, get creative. Put that mind of yours to use. Do that and May will cherish it because it's from you." I turned around to face him. I never told him May's name, did I? "You can go to every store in Hoenn and you'll never find the perfect gift all ready to be wrapped and delivered. You have to put thought into it." I looked down. Perhaps he was right.

Looking back up I discovered he was gone. I was pretty sure I would had seen him walking away but I decided to check the store anyways. Coming up with nothing I walked back towards the counter. The scrapbook now had a gold bow stuck on top of its red cover with a little piece of paper that read; 'Drew, Merry Christmas! You're a smart boy.'

Okay this time I was sure I didn't tell him my name. But then again I was a famous coordinator after all. He must had recognized me and it was a lucky guess that he knew May, my famous rival in contests, was the girl I was shopping for. Yeah. I mean, what else could it be? Grabbing the book and situating it under my right arm I walked out the door and was greeted by a much more silent crowd. It was darker out, the snow fell creating a peaceful atmosphere and alot less people seemed to be out.

I decided now was a good time to start heading back to the hotel I was staying at. I knew I was going to be up the majority of the night working on this scrapbook. Luckily Petalburg wasn't that far away from here so I would only have a short trip to make tomorrow. "Just one more tiny thing to pick up..."

-

"Flygon, land down there." I directed Flygon to a deserted park in Petalburg City. The swing sets moved slightly in the winter breeze and the snow covered ground showed signs of wild pokemon having made their way in and out of the area. I assumed this park was probably filled with kids, trainers, and pokemon alike on any average day. But today wasn't exactly an average day. It was Christmas and the day I'd put my dignity on the line in hopes of gaining something I didn't have yesterday.

I was really grateful that there seemed to be no signs of people, especially my fans and paparazzi. I was really a sight to see. Green and red striped elf hat with a bell weighing the top of it down, along with fake elf ears to really make the look complete. I didn't really bother with dressing myself in any stereotypical elf uniform since it was so cold it would be covered by my heavy purple coat anyways.

It probably seems random for me to dress up as an elf but I did it for a couple reasons. I knew May would get a huge kick out of it and she'd hopefully see how I'm really putting my image on the line for this. Another reason was that about a year ago I had said something to her. '_Do you have little elves running around town delivering presents to everyone else?_' It only seemed fitting since I was now the one delivering a present.

As I approached the Petalburg Gym, and May's home, my ears were filled with what sounded like arguing. I still got closer and the yelling only got louder. The gym was now right infront of me but the noise was coming towards the back. I made my way along the side of the gym and peered over a snow bank to see what the commotion was. It was apparent this was the backyard to the Maple family. Snow covered the ground as it did through the whole city and a white fence made it more secluded. I was surprised not to just see one Maple sibling, but to see both of them.

"Max, you did that on purpose!" Even from a distance I could see May's red face and angry expression. I also saw snow falling loosely from her red winter hat. It didn't take a genius to figure out that snow didn't fall on her head by coincidence.

Looking at Max I could tell he had grown quite alot since I last saw him, which would had been way back when they were still traveling with Ash and Brock. He surely had to be old enough to have his own pokemon and be on his own journey by now. I could hear a muffled chuckle come from the younger of the two siblings. "Now May, how could you be so quick to assume the worst in me?" May had rolled her eyes.

"Maybe because I know you?" I watched as they stared each other down. The silence was stiff and I could only guess what was about to happen. I didn't have siblings of my own and honestly didn't know much about their own relationship.

Unexpectedly the silence was broke when May conspicuously leaned down to scoop up her own handful of snow and began to mold it into a ball. I noticed that Max was also doing the same thing as May hadn't been subtle enough. An all out war had started before I could blink, their only ammunition being snowballs. The cold air started to make me fidget so I finally decided to make my presence known.

I made my descent towards them, since I had to walk down a bit of a slope to reach where they were. Max was the first to notice me as he dropped his arm mid-throw. May only saw the opportunity and took it, hitting Max right on the side of his head. Max had paid no mind to it however as he keeled over laughing. I could see the confusion on May's face as she looked at her brother like his was a lunatic.

"Max, what has gotten into you?" Max still seemed to pay no mind to her and only lifted one hand to point in my direction. She arched a brow and slowly turned towards me. I braced myself and told my dignity to just hold on long enough to give her her gift. She just gaped at me and I could see her eyes flash. She always left her emotions so easy to read. Even after a year I could tell what she was thinking. I knew she was currently debating if she should smile and welcome me with open arms, or if she join her brother in his laughter.

She eventually decided on some sort of mixture of the two. "D-Drew! W-what are you doing here?" Her voice was filled with laughter and her eyes shone brightly despite the cloudy skies. Even after May spoke Max's laughter carried on, I would even say it got worse as he was now rolling in the snow.

I was about to answer when Max got even louder than before. I really didn't see how it was necessary to laugh for that long. Yeah, I'm dressed like an elf. Get a chuckle in and then shut your mouth. May seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Hey Max?" He quieted down and started to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "If you go in my bedroom you'll find one last Christmas present for you hidden under my bed..." As soon as that bribe left her mouth Max had already gotten up from his spot on the ground and ran inside through a back patio door. She laughed silently and turned back to me. "Well?"

I flicked my hair out of my eyes and smirked at her. "What does it look like I'm doing here?" I may be here to hopefully let her know how I feel about her, but that doesn't mean I can't have some fun first.

She let out an annoyed groan before she sudden lit up with realization. "You took a job as one of Santa's helpers at the Petalburg Mall to help pay off your bar tabs!" I just gave her a bemused look.

"May, I'm sixteen. I don't drink." That same look of realization that was on her face suddenly vanished. I sighed. "Do you want to try again?" She pondered on it for a minute and then shook her head. I sighed once again only this time more annoyed. "Okay. What am I dressed as?"

"An elf." Okay good, she wasn't completely hopeless after all.

"And what do elves do?"

"Work for Santa?..." This time she seemed more hesitant and less sure of her answer. I nodded to reassure her.

"So if Santa were to... let's say, _forget_ a present for a certain person, who would be the most likely person to deliver that gift to that certain person?"

"Drew, I don't underst-" I cut her off with a hand gesture telling her to stop. She groaned even more annoyed than she was before. Crossing her arms she closed her eyes and puffed out her cheeks. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and her face lit up again. I just hoped she had a more reasonable guess this time. "An elf! An elf would deliver the present!"

I clapped my hands together and nodded my head. "Good job May. I thought we'd be playing the guessing game until New Years." Her eyes twitched slightly until her eyes were drawn down to the wrapped gift under my arm. She went in for a quick dive but I quickly spun to the side and she landed in a heap on the ground. "Tsk tsk May. What do you think you're doing?"

She growled and glared at me. "You have a gift. _My_ gift. I want it." I chuckled.

"What makes you think this gift is for you?" Her glare quickly contorted into a pout. It was that same look she gave me every time she wanted me to do something. Ugh. I stiffly held the present out towards her as she jumped up on her feet and grabbed it. I turned to the side and tried to have a look of indifference on my face but watched her out of the corner of my eye.

Tearing the red wrapping paper and green bow off she let it fall to the ground only interested in the thing they held. Her eyes ran over the red scrapbook that adorn an old and rugged look, it almost looked antique in a way. She briefly looked at me and I nodded at her, telling her to go on and open it.

When she did she found the first page had a picture of her and her beautifly in their first ever contest appeal back in Slateport. She smiled softly at the memory. I smiled briefly at the memory myself. All contest appeals and battles were videotaped and luckily I was able to get clear images printed into pictures. Her eyes noticed something I had written below the picture in a neat cursive handwriting. '_That contest appeal was atrocious. You should only be so lucky that you got through to the next round._' Her eyes narrowed for a second but she seemed to try and ignore that message and decided to flip the page instead.

This time it was a picture of her accepting her very first ribbon back in Fallarbor Town. Again her eyes seemed to notice a message I had left. '_Your win was a fluke. Your opponents pokemon was just too tired to fight you fairly since it had just put up its best fight against me._' Unlike last time I could see her jaw tighten as she angrily flipped to the third page.

The third page contained a picture from her second contest win in the Verdanturf Contest. I recall leaving a message under this one saying, '_You only won because I didn't enter._'

Her hand twitched as she tried to flip to the next page but she seemed to be too angry to. I'll give her credit, I thought she would blow after the first picture. As her face began to flush in anger I pulled something out of a backpack I had been carrying. "Drew, what the hell is-" At this moment I flipped to face May and clicked a button on my polaroid camera. The flash stunned May and cut her sentence right off. "Wha..."

I ignored her and grabbed the scrapbook from her in her stupor. As I waited for the picture to fully develop I flipped to the last page and pulled a pen from my pocket. Once the picture had fully appeared I stuck it to the page and began to write a message below it, like I had with the rest of the pictures in the book. May tried to get a glimpse of what I was writing but I kept her at arms length.

Once I was satisfied with my message, which I had rehearsed beforehand, I handed the book back to May. "Read it." She looked down. She took a painfully slow time looking over the picture of her flushed and angry face, probably internally fussing about how I didn't capture her 'good side'. I just wanted her to read my message. The wait was torture.

Finally she lowered her eyes. With a only slightly audible gasp she raised her face to me. "D-do you mean it?"

I smiled softly at her. "I'm a Christmas elf... we don't lie."

With that she let the scrapbook land softly on the ground, landing on top of the wrapping paper so it didn't get wet, and lept into my arms and we both laughed.

'_May. I love everything about you._

_The first day we met you could had ignored my insults and walked away and I probably would had never remembered your face or name. But you let your anger get the best of you and provided a real challenge. Because of that I like to see you get angry so I tease you. It's a constant reminder of what made me so interested in you in the first place. To this day you never fail to surprise me._

_After six years I'm ready to take it a step further._

_Travel with me to the Sinnoh region. I think we both have unfinished business there._

_And I'll always be your Christmas elf._

_Merry Christmas._

_-Drew._'

* * *

Well. Merry belated Christmas everyone. :D  
But what better way to prepare for a new year, and a new decade, than with Contestshipping? ;D

And ooh, my longest chapter I've ever written. :p

Review if you have the time~


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